The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

The Darkest Part of the Forest

by Holly Black

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Bekka rated it ★★★★ and said, “I really enjoyed this! The whole fairy element was great, and properly scary. I think it’s wonderful when author’s use the original fairies, and not the cutsie Victorian ones. The fairies here are quite dangerous as well as intriguing and beautiful. I loved how it was set in the New World, in our world, and how the teens coped with the magic in their lives. This is a great read for any Holly Black fans, as well as Maggie Stiefvater fans. It’s great writing with great characters and an edge-of-your-seat kind of plot. Great fun!”

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

This Is What Happy Looks Like

by Jennifer E. Smith

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O’Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.

Then Graham finds out that Ellie’s Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media’s spotlight at all costs?

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Bekka rated it ★★★★ and said, “What a cute book! It reminded me a bit of some of Sarah Dessen’s works. These are real kids with some typical problems, and some not-so-typical problems. I loved the romance, and the way it developed. I think the characters were quite well done, and the writing is very enjoyable. This is a great, lighter read for those who enjoy sweet romances with a little fairy tale thrown in.”

Miranda rated it ★★★★ and said, “3.5 stars. Not super original, but a cute story. I will be looking for her other titles. A great read-a-like for Janette Rallison and Lindsey Leavitt.”

Lorna rated it ★★★ and said, “It was an O.K. story for a light summer romance.”

Betsy rated it ★★★★★.

Emma rated it ★★★★.

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

by Morgan Matson

Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it’s Amy’s responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn’t ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip—and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar—especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory—but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall

by Lauren Oliver

With this stunning debut novel, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver emerged as one of today’s foremost authors of young adult fiction. Like Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why and Gayle Forman’s If I Stay, Before I Fall raises thought-provoking questions about love, death, and how one person’s life can affect so many others.

For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12—”Cupid Day”—should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a terrible accident that night.

However, she still wakes up the next morning. In fact, Sam lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she ever imagined.

Named to numerous state reading lists, this novel was also recognized as a Best Book of the Year by Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, The Daily Beast, NPR, and Publishers Weekly. It has been optioned for film by Fox 2000 Pictures.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Bekka rated it ★★★★ and said, “Excellent book! The characters stay with you a long time after the book is finished.”

Miranda rated it ★★★★★ and said, “Edgy and real. A great book to be on the [Teens’ Top Ten] nominee list.”

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

by Jennifer E. Smith

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Imagine if she hadn’t forgotten the book. Or if there hadn’t been traffic on the expressway. Or if she hadn’t fumbled the coins for the toll. What if she’d run just that little bit faster and caught the flight she was supposed to be on. Would it have been something else – the weather over the Atlantic or a fault with the plane?

Hadley isn’t sure if she believes in destiny or fate but, on what is potentially the worst day of each of their lives, it’s the quirks of timing and chance events that mean Hadley meets Oliver…

Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver’s story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Betsy rated it ★★★★★.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park.

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words… And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Bekka rated it ★★★★ and said, “I LOVE Rainbow Rowell! She has such a great ability to create realistic, believable characters and situations. This one isn’t quite as dark as Eleanor & Park, but these characters still face some real challenges. I LOVE the character of Cath! What a great person she is! I think Rowell’s portrayal of the mother was spot-on. Cath’s family dynamics were very real, and, in spite of their various challenges, it was obvious this is a family that really cares for each other. Of course, the best part was the romance. Rowell also has a real talent in depicting young men and their cares. What fantastic boyfriends she creates! While not as powerful as Eleanor & Park, this book is every bit as enjoyable. Highly Recommended!”

Lorna rated it ★★★★.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Persuasion

by Jane Austen

Twenty-seven-year old Anne Elliot is Austen’s most adult heroine. Eight years before the story proper begins, she is happily betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she precipitously breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that such a match is unworthy. The breakup produces in Anne a deep and long-lasting regret. When later Wentworth returns from sea a rich and successful captain, he finds Anne’s family on the brink of financial ruin and his own sister a tenant in Kellynch Hall, the Elliot estate. All the tension of the novel revolves around one question: Will Anne and Wentworth be reunited in their love?

Jane Austen once compared her writing to painting on a little bit of ivory, 2 inches square. Readers of Persuasion will discover that neither her skill for delicate, ironic observations on social custom, love, and marriage nor her ability to apply a sharp focus lens to English manners and morals has deserted her in her final finished work.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Bekka rated it ★★★★★ and said, “I think this is the best of all her books. More mature, and more depth to the story. Beautiful. Better every time I read it!”

Cathy rated it ★★★★.

Rebekah rated it ★★★★★ and said, “Have you ever found that book that isn’t so much a book as a part of you? This is the book I read when I’m surpassingly sad or when I’m surpassingly happy. Every time I wonder if maybe I just imagined how much I love Persuasion, I reread it, and by the last page, I know again that no other book will ever come close to it in my heart.”

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Me Before You

by Jojo Moyes

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Bekka rated it ★★★★ and said, “This was a very emotional book! I always like a good cry. I liked this twist on the romance genre, with an unconventional plot. Even with the differences, however, there are a lot of typical elements of a good romance. I very much liked the main character, and thought she was quite well done. I also like the main romance interest, not quite as much as the girl, but he was an interesting change from the typical ‘boyfriend’ character. The plot was well done, if a bit predictable. The only thing I didn’t like were the short chapters told from a completely different character’s point of view—the way they were added to the story threw me out of the flow of the narrative. Other than that, this was an enjoyable read. It’s definitely a Girl Book! I would be interested to hear what readers of more conventional romances think of this one.”

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler's Wife

by Audrey Niffenegger

Audrey Niffenegger’s dazzling debut is the story of Clare, a beautiful, strong-minded art student, and Henry, an adventuresome librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-three and Henry thirty-one. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: his genetic clock randomly resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous and unpredictable, and lend a spectacular urgency to Clare and Henry’s unconventional love story. That their attempt to live normal lives together is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control makes their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians

Bekka rated it ★★★★ and said, “A nice grown-up book.”

Miranda rated it ★★★★★.

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